


The Tenderest Chicken Nugget

by imamaryanne



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: A teeny tiny amount of angst, But really just mostly fluffy, Fluff, Grocery Shopping, M/M, Slice of Life, costco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 04:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8830111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imamaryanne/pseuds/imamaryanne
Summary: After Bitty moves in with Jack, the first thing they do as a couple is go grocery shopping at Costco.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [happilyy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/happilyy/gifts).



> Thanks to [AmandaCritelliWestphal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaCritelliWestphal/pseuds/AmandaCritelliWestphal) for the beta and the title.

After graduating Samwell, Bitty went to stay with his parents in Georgia for a few days before heading back up north to Providence to officially and permanently move in with Jack. 

Jack knew the Bittles needed this time with their son, so he made the decision not to tag along, even though the Falcs had been knocked out of the playoffs right before graduation in the first round, and he really could have used a little cheering up. 

He spent those few days wandering around his house, feeling lonely because Bitty wasn’t there; and Tater, who lived two floors below him in the same building, was off visiting family in Russia for a few weeks. Really, he needed a project, and what he wanted to do was get his apartment ready for Bitty. 

Bitty had only been keeping a few items of clothes in Jack’s apartment, but he’d be moving in with his entire wardrobe. So Jack cleaned out half his walk-in closet and went to the furniture store and bought a new dresser, much larger than the one he currently owned. 

He decided Bitty would want-slash-need new cookware, so he made a trip to Williams-Sonoma where he proceeded to spend entirely too much money on every type of pot and pan he could imagine - including two of every style and size of pie dish, because he had no idea what Bitty usually used. 

And while he was at it, maybe Bitty would like to have new bath towels and new sheets on their bed, and hey that chair in the corner of Crate & Barrel looked like it would match the curtains that Bitty had picked out for the living room, so Jack decided to buy that too. And that adorable bunny-shaped paper towel holder? Had to get that. 

By the time that Saturday rolled around, Jack was waiting impatiently for Bitty to arrive in his new (used) Ford Escape that was a graduation gift from Coach and Suzanne. Jack was sure that he’d gotten everything Bitty could possibly need or want to make him happy and at home in this apartment.  

After nearly an hour of continually looking out the window, Jack finally saw Bitty pull into the parking lot of the building. Bitty jumped out of the car and stretched his arms over his head before pulling a box off the front seat and heading in. 

Jack was waiting for him right as he came in. 

“Jack!” Bitty said, setting the box on the counter. 

Jack didn’t say anything. He stepped forward and landed a crushing kiss on Bitty’s lips. He pulled back and rested his forehead on Bitty’s. “God, I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve missed you too, sweetheart.” 

They kissed again, before Jack pulled back. “Welcome home.” 

“You have no idea how good it is to hear that.” 

“Look,” Jack said, excitement building in his stomach, pulling Bitty into their bedroom. “I bought a bigger dresser.”

“Aw, you didn’t need to to that!”

“And,” Jack went on, ignoring that Bitty had said anything, “I cleaned out half the closet for you, and look at these bath towels I just bought. Oh, and I went to Williams-Sonoma and bought some more kitchen stuff, but I didn’t know what pie pans you wanted, so I bought them all.” 

Bitty laughed a little, “Well, you’ve sure kept yourself busy this week.” 

“I want you to have everything you need,” Jack explained. 

“As long as I’ve got you, I’ve got everything I need,” Bitty said, pulling Jack in for another kiss. This one was brief, and Bitty pulled out of it first. “But I skipped lunch to get here quicker, and now I’m starved.” 

Jack followed Bitty out of the bedroom and back into the kitchen and watched with a fond smile on his face as Bitty peeked in the cupboards. “Honestly, Jack you did not need to get all this!” 

“I wanted to.” 

Bitty smiled at him, as he turned to open the fridge. “Okay? But where’s all your food?” 

“Oh shit,” Jack’s heart sank. Because he’d been so busy getting everything else ready for Bitty, he’d forgotten to buy more groceries. The fridge had a few loose beers, a Brita of water, some ketchup and mayonnaise, a few apples, some sliced cheese, and two chinese takeout containers. Bitty opened the freezer, where there was an unopened pint of ice cream (Chubby Hubby) and a bag of frozen chicken nuggets with five nuggets rattling around the bottom. 

“Jack,” Bitty opened the cupboard and saw a jar of peanut butter, a bag of potato chips, pancake mix, and shelves full of protein powder. “What have you been eating this week?”

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Jack swore. “I ate dinner at Thirdy’s the last couple nights and I had lunch out. And, I ate those chicken nuggets for breakfast, with eggs, but I used the last of the eggs.”

“Oh dear God,” Bitty put his hand to his forehead dramatically, and took one of the apples out of the fridge and bit into it. 

“What?” 

“How have you survived on your own this long?”

“Take-out?” 

“Jack Zimmermann, I want nothing more than to have my way with you on our bed right now. But we have  _ got _ to go grocery shopping first.” He pulled in his pocket and came up with his keys, “I’ll drive.” 

“Great,” Jack grabbed his wallet. “Let’s go to Costco. I need more chicken nuggets.”

“Jack,” Bitty said. 

“What?” Jack asked, grabbing a Samwell ballcap off the table by the front door and shoved it on his head. 

“You are not surviving on chicken nuggets as long as I’m here.” 

“I’m glad you’re concerned for me,” Jack said as he followed Bitty out of the apartment, “But I think Costco sells the same nuggets they had at the Samwell dining hall.” 

“What are you, a chicken nugget connoisseur?”

“Shitty, Ransom and Holster think so too,” Jack insisted, “We’ve texted about it.” 

Bitty chuckled, “Oh of course, you and those boys have been texting about chicken nuggets.” 

Jack slid into the passenger seat of Bitty’s new car and looked around, “This is nice,” he remarked. Coach had called Jack up a couple of months earlier and gruffly told him about his and Suzanne’s plans on buying a car for Bitty for graduation. It had always been perfectly clear to Jack that Coach was uncomfortable with the amount of money he made. And this car was Coach and Suzanne’s last attempt to make sure Jack didn’t get a chance to spoil and ruin their only child with rich-people toys and fancy cars. Jack knew when to argue and when not to, so he’d simply told Bitty’s parents that he was sure Bitty would be thrilled with a car as a graduation gift. 

Bitty ate his apple and kept up a stream of chatter about his road trip from Georgia to Rhode Island. “Goodness, I stopped at this diner for dinner near my hotel just off 95 between DC and Baltimore. Lord, Jack. You think my chocolate silk pie is good. It’s got nothin’ on this diner. I sweet-talked my way into getting the recipe from the owner, and I promised I’d send some hungry hockey players their way next time y’all play the Caps."

“Mmm-Hmm,” Jack said.

“What?” Bitty laughed, as he glanced at Jack who was watching Bitty drive. 

“I’m just so glad you’re here.” 

“Aw, you,” Bitty laughed and blushed a bit. “You’re embarrassing me. But I’m glad to be here. This feels real now, don’t it?” 

“It’s always felt real,” Jack assured him.

“It feels...I don’t know. Adult?” 

“As soon as we get back home, it can be like an adult film.” 

Bitty guffawed, “Lord, don’t tempt me to pull over right now.” And Jack laughed. “Seriously though. Like, I get in and the first thing we do is head on over to the Costco. There’s something so grown-up about that. Last time I went grocery shopping for myself it was at the murder Stop & Shop.” He bit his apple and looked introspective. “The last two years have felt like I’ve been waiting for my real life to begin. And today’s the first day of that.”

Jack knew what Bitty was saying, but wanted to keep the mood light. “It’s a momentous trip to Costco. I just wish our first activity today wasn’t so...pedestrian.” 

Bitty grinned, took another bite of apple and merged expertly onto the highway. He loved the way Jack said ‘pedestrian.’ It was one of those words where his accent became more pronounced. 

“I don’t think anything’s pedestrian, nothing mundane at all, about shopping for food,” Bitty insisted. 

He reached into the console next to the driver’s seat pulled out a coffee receipt and pen and handed them to Jack.  “Here, start a list.” 

Jack uncapped the pen and leaned forward and wrote  _ chicken nuggets _ before Bitty rattled off, “Flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, milk, chocolate, lemons, apples….” 

“Bits, this is too much food for just the two of us.” 

“Hush,” Bitty said. “You know I’m makin’ food so I can introduce myself to the neighbors.” 

Jack laughed. “I’ve lived there two years and I barely know anyone except Tater. A few people I’ve nodded to. The lady who lives down the hall has a dachshund named Cannoli, but I don’t know Cannoli’s owner’s name.” 

Bitty smiled, “That’s cute. I can make some peanut butter doggie treats for Cannoli.” He pulled into a parking space. “You ready for this?” 

“Sure,” Jack shrugged. “I’ve been to Costco before, you know.” 

“You haven’t been with me,” Bitty pointed out. 

“True,” Jack said. “I usually just buy chicken nuggets and sometimes steak.” 

“Of course,” Bitty said sardonically. He took the list from Jack and studied it carefully, before playfully hitting Jack in the shoulder, “And I see you’ve added nuggets to our list. Now that I’m here, you can eat better than nuggets.” 

“I’m not giving up the nuggets, Bits.” 

Bitty snorted, but didn’t argue further. 

Jack followed him into the building, and watched with admiration as Bitty took total charge of the shopping trip. He grabbed a cart and was scanning the store as Jack showed the greeter his Costco card. 

“Food’s on the left hand side,” Jack said, placing his hand on the small of Bitty’s back and directing him the correct way. 

Even though Jack had the list he’d written in the car, Bitty insisted on going aisle by aisle. “You never know what you’ve forgotten,” he said. When they got to the baking aisle, Bitty stood in front of a stack of powdered sugar, sold in three-packs of five pound bags. “I can’t decide if I’d ever need this much powdered sugar.” 

“Does it go bad?” Jack wondered.

“Goodness, I don’t know.” Bitty answered. “I’ve always used to too quickly to worry about whether it expires.” 

Jack gave Bitty a look to indicate that the answer was obvious, but when Bitty didn’t budge, Jack leaned over, grabbed fifteen pounds of powdered sugar and dropped it into the cart with finality. “We have a walk-in pantry. Don’t worry about space.” 

Bitty covered his heart with his hand, “I’ve always coveted a walk-in pantry. Jack Zimmermann, are you trying to seduce me?” 

Jack quirked a smile, and pushed a lock of Bitty’s hair out of his eyes. “Always.” 

Bitty’s eyes widened, sure Jack was going to kiss him right there in the middle of the baking aisle at Costco. Instead Jack cleared his throat and turned away, hiding his face from the other shoppers in the aisle. 

They slowly made their way up and down the aisles. Every time Bitty considered  _ anything,  _ no matter how big or small, Jack would throw it in the cart. Even when Bitty would point out that they were only two people, Jack would just shrug, “You’d be surprised how often Tater comes over. And he eats even more than I do.” 

“Well, it’s a good thing Tater’s one of the few who knows about us.” 

“In time,” Jack promised. 

“I wasn’t pushing,” Bitty said, looking around to make sure no one could overhear them. “There’s no rush. You’re the one with the public career.” 

“It’ll happen. Eventually.” 

Bitty patted Jack’s cheek in a manner that couldn’t be construed as anything but perfectly platonic to onlookers, “I know, Baby.” 

Their cart was far fuller than it should have been by the time they got to the meats section, where a lady at a cart was handing out samples in tiny paper bowls. “Lobster bisque?” she asked Jack and Bitty as they walked by. “It’s available in the refrigerated section,” she said as she handed a little bowl to Jack. Bitty thought he noticed a look of recognition cross her face.  

Jack held the bowl carefully to his lips and tipped a little in his mouth. “Mmm,” he murmured, “Sweetheart, this is actually pretty good,” he said to Bitty. 

It took Jack only a moment to realize that he’d called Bitty a pet name in public, and that the woman handing out samples was staring at him curiously. Jack pulled his hat down low over his eyes and dashed away, squeezing between the people crowding around the lobster bisque lady. 

Bitty ignored the paper bowl being held out to him, and pulled their cart through the small crowd. He could see Jack’s red Samwell hat bobbing between customers just a few rows in front of him. Bitty followed as quickly as he could, and finally caught up to Jack in the very back corner of the store, leaning against a pallet stacked high with giant bags of dry dog food. 

Jack’s face was buried in his hands, and he was breathing slowly and carefully. 

“Jack,” Bitty said carefully. 

“I can’t believe I said that  _ here. _ ” 

“It’s all right,” Bitty assured him. He looked around. This corner of the store was quiet, perhaps not that many people shopped Costco for pet food. Bitty placed a hand on Jack’s back and rubbed a little. “You said yourself that you don’t get recognized unless you’re wearing your Falcs hat.” 

“It’s not like I’ve  _ never _ been recognized in my Samwell hat,” Jack pointed out. 

Bitty decided to keep mum about the look of recognition he’d seen on the sample lady’s face. He continued to rub Jack’s lower back soothingly. “No one recognized you.” 

Jack took a few deep gulping breaths, his hand covering his chest. 

“It’s okay,” Bitty assured him again. “Look, we can limit the amount of time we spend together in public-”

“No!” 

Bitty was taken back by Jack’s vehemence. “Well, let’s just double-down on keeping it platonic, then,” he suggested. He was keeping his voice soft but strong and reassuring, the way he’d read you should do for someone with anxiety.  

Jack hadn’t wanted this, not on Bitty’s first official day living with him in Providence. He didn’t want something to happen to make his chest feel hot and heavy, make his blood pressure rise and keep him from breathing normally. They’d been having such a good time, and he’d let the happiness he was feeling, the fact that he was having fun in a Costco of all places, take over and that one word,  _ sweetheart _ , slip out at the wrong time. 

If he couldn’t keep it together around Bitty in front of a bunch of strangers at Costco, what chance did he have around teammates? Tater knew about them, so did George and Thirdy. But the others thought Jack was simply letting an old college teammate who was looking for a job in Providence crash with him. 

“It won’t be like this forever,” Jack said. He stood up straighter, his breathing evening out. 

“I know, honey.” 

“Maybe not even the whole year.” 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Bitty assured him. “I’m not pushing you.” 

“I’m serious.” 

“I believe you. I also think I just moved in and we having nothing but time ahead of us this summer to talk about it.” 

Jack didn’t exactly smile, but his face did relax, making him look much happier than he had just moments earlier. “We do have time, don’t we?” 

“The rest of our lives,” Bitty agreed. They looked up as a shopper wandered into the pet food aisle. Bitty grabbed the cart and started moving, “But some of this food doesn’t have that much more time before it spoils.” 

“I’m ready to get out of here anyway,” Jack said, following Bitty down the aisle. 

“Yeah,” Bitty agreed. “Only let’s stop in the frozen section. We forgot to pick up chicken nuggets.” 


End file.
